Britain's tabloid News of the World (think National Enquirer in the US) has just announced that Sunday's edition will be it's last. British PM David Cameron shared his outrage in the British Parliament over the latest revelations that NoW's 'journalists' are being accused of hacking into murder victims' phones, as well as relatives of the 7/7 London bombings.
Even as some commentators point out that NoW has long been a staunch troop supporter, today's revelations of our troops and their families being targetted by the NoW employees seems to have been the tipping point. The British Royal Legion (Veteran's advocacy group) dropped the NoW as a 'campaign partner,' as both Rupert Murdoch and his son James attempt to mitigate the damage caused by the actions of their employees. "I support the troops" takes on a whole new meaning in light of the last few days.
Today's announcement of the demise of NoW is a good first step. The police investigations into the depth of the despicable misdeeds of this bastion of sleazy tabloid must continue. All well and good to have a Code of Ethics for journalists, but if rogue newshounds ignore that Code in their rush for exclusives, any such Code is worthless.
Will these latest disclosures and events cause all of the mainstream media to clean up their acts, and start to bring ethics back into a once honourable profession?
Only time will tell.
For an earlier VoA column on this developing drama, go here: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/europe/British-Tabloid-May-Have-Hacked-Phones-of-Dead-Soldiers-Relatives-125151274.html
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